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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-08-26; Library Board of Trustees; ; LIBRARY REPORT FOR JULY 2020ITEM # 5 Meeting Date: August 26, 2020 To: Library Board of Trustees From: Sheila Crosby, Interim Deputy Library Director Sarah Dana, Interim Deputy Library Director Staff Contact: Sheila Crosby, sheila.crosby@carlsbadca.gov Sarah Dana, sarah.dana@carlsbadca.gov Subject: Library Report for July 2020 Recommended Action Receive report. No action needed. Executive Summary/Discussion The board will review the monthly library reports for July 2020. This report provides a summary of work completed across all Carlsbad City Library divisions and locations as well as services and programs presented for the community. Next Steps None. Fiscal Analysis None. Public Notification Public notice of this item was posted in keeping with the Ralph M. Brown Act and was available for public viewing and review at least 72 hours before the scheduled meeting date. Exhibits • Narrative for July 2020 • Statistics for July 2020 LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES ITEM #5 Monthly LIBRARY Report for July 2020 Systemwide … In July, over 22,000 items were checked out to patrons through curbside service. In addition, more than 23,000 items were returned to the library and book returns are now open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Curbside service continues to be available 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Monday through Saturday. In addition to picking up library materials which have been placed on hold, patrons continued to pick up Summer Reading Adventure rewards and Club Pelican art kits. City Communications staff created a video to feature the safety measures library staff put in place for curbside service: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKHPDiwvGYo Several staff members began new roles with the Library & Cultural Arts Department in July. Long-time Community Outreach Supervisor Carrie Scott was promoted to interim principal librarian of the Library Learning Center, filling the vacancy created when Sheila Crosby was promoted to interim deputy library director in May. Senior Librarian Sarah Dana was promoted to the second interim deputy library director position, filling the vacancy created when Suzanne Smithson was promoted to Library & Cultural Arts director. Brian Buchholtz, a part-time employee of the Parks & Recreation Department was promoted to his new role as the library’s senior office specialist while long-time part-time library employee Christina Lorenzo was promoted to full-time library assistant at the Learning Center. The all-virtual Summer Reading Adventure (SRA) for all ages continued throughout July with an additional 438 registrations and nearly 277,000 minutes read. SRA registration in July 2020 was down 61% from July 2019. As reported last month, the closure of library locations mid-March due to COVID-19 impacted the ability to promote the SRA in-person at all three libraries and at more than a dozen monthly offsite library programs and outreach events. There has been overwhelmingly positive feedback from those participating in the program, such as this email from a local parent: “Thank you so much for your hard work and creative efforts in continuing the Summer Reading Adventure! My son is four and a half and is truly enjoying his second experience in completing the reading challenge. I can only imagine that during this crisis, it poses extra work and energy on your staff and as a parent, and teacher, I am greatly appreciative. From the online system, to holds and pickups, and rewards – it has been working seamlessly for us. He was delighted that his reward books were even wrapped as a present and it felt like a very special treat in the middle of summer at home.” In conjunction with the SRA, three virtual family shows were held in July with the videos available for viewing online for a week. They included the Zany Zoe Magic Virtual Show pre- recorded video, which was watched by 22 viewers; Pacific Animal Productions Facebook Live event, which attracted 1,602 viewings; and fiddler Celia Lawley, a performance live streamed via Facebook from Schulman Auditorium, which was watched 231 times. ScienceTellers, a group combining storytelling with science experiments, had a pre-recorded video that went live July 13 and will be available until Aug. 31. Monthly Library Report for July 2020 Library Children’s staff, on site Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., answered nearly 400 reference questions by phone and email during the month. Beginning in July, Genealogy & Carlsbad History Division staff were also on site at Cole Library to answer calls and work on projects. Staff responded to 50 inquiries, many of which required significant research to answer. Library book clubs, now meeting virtually on Zoom, attracted eight new members this month. Fifty people total attended the four online book discussions with many providing positive feedback on the opportunity to connect. A book club member sent a handwritten note with this kind message: “With all the difficulties of COVID-19, I want to thank you for keeping library services going. I have participated in the library Wednesday Zoom book club, which I really appreciate during this time of isolation.” The library continued its virtual concert series, Live From My Living Room, on July 9 with a concert featuring guitarist, vocalist and composer Nathan McEuen. The concert was streamed via the library’s Facebook Live, and the video has been viewed 875 times: https://www.facebook.com/129735310438627/videos/1683037531871592. Additional July virtual events included a health and wellness workshop on July 14 on Zoom attended by 14 people, a panel featuring four best-selling authors on July 19 and attended by 48 people, a Zoom lecture on July 23 featuring author and comedian Darryl Littleton and attended by 20 people, and an introduction to Folklorico dance workshop live streamed on Facebook on July 30 and viewed 1,800 times: https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=914484475628551&ref=watch_permalink Four teens attended the virtual Teen Book Warriors meeting via Zoom on July 21. Teens talked about how their lives were impacted due to COVID-19, discussed the upcoming school year and established a list of books to read for August to November. Teen Librarian Ashleigh Hvinden demonstrated how to use the library catalog and the Teen Space website. Three teens attended the virtual Teen Advisory Board held via Zoom that same day, where teens shared their recommendations on how to market the new RB Digital eComics service to other teens. In addition, the teen librarian revitalized the personalized teen reading recommendation service and four teens submitted requests in July. CCL, Dove Lane … Library Assistant Angelica Mejia conducted bilingual family storytimes each Wednesday morning in July. These storytimes were streamed live on the Carlsbad City Library’s Facebook page and were well-received, with a combined total of over 1,070 views. Due to copyright concerns, only some storytimes will be archived on the library’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/carlsbadcitylibrary/videos/ On July 7 and 21, Librarian Ally Goodwin held virtual Book Explorers programs for young readers with 10 students total participating. Monthly Library Report for July 2020 Georgina Cole … Digitization will soon begin on Carlsbad High School yearbooks from 1958 to 2015 in the history collection. The yearbooks were packed and shipped to Backstage Library Works in Bethlehem, PA, in early July and staff expect the digitization project to be completed by end of August. Following digitization, library staff will quality-control check the digital files before the original volumes are returned to the library. The yearbooks are one of the most popular collections in the Carlsbad History Collection and digitization will make the collection even more accessible. After much communication and testing, remote access to the American Ancestors database was opened to Carlsbad City Library cardholders on July 20, allowing cardholders to access American Ancestors from home. This was serendipitous timing as the Genealogy Program meeting, scheduled long-before quarantine, covered the American Ancestors database. The North San Diego County Genealogical Society (NSDCGS) held three live webinar programs in July using the society’s GoToWebinar subscription. On July 14, 97 people attended an Intermediate Genealogy Class taught by Society Member and President Tom Cousineau covering underused genealogy resources. The July 18 DIG: DNA Interest Group provided an overview of DNA Painter and had 88 attendees. And at the July 28 program, well-known genealogy speaker Christine Cohen covered resources available through the American Ancestors database with 110 attendees. Learning Center … Literacy Services tutors who have worked with their learners remotely volunteered 83 hours in July. All current tutors and learners in the literacy program received a check-in call from staff and information on resources being offered. The Read and Play Summer Club for students in grades 1 through 4 met five times via Zoom in July. During these meetings, club members discussed chapters read from books and played several educational activities like Find the Word, Show and Tell, and Scattergories, which were adapted to complement the featured book. Attendees ranged from five to eight participants per meeting. Outreach and Community Connections … Library volunteers for the homebound program spent 8.5 hours this month connecting with their patrons through email to check in about needs for library materials and discuss coping with challenges related to social isolation during COVID-19. Staff coordinated deliveries of 39 items to the patrons. June 15 to Aug. 9, 2020 New Online Library Accounts eBooks/eAudiobooks 356 New Users: 18,390 Downloads 258 Added downloadable titles & extra copies CARLSBAD CITY LIBRARY 500 in July 1,782 April to Current Curbside Service – Launched June 1 July / June 1 to July 31 25,294 / 41,637 Holds Placed 22,065 / 34,389 Holds Checked Out 3,187 / 7,062 Patrons Used Service e Library Webpage Library@Home ▪Biblioteca en Casa ▪Digital services ▪Adult eBook recommends ▪Children’s eBook recommends ▪Youth resources Visits in July 1,058 Webpage Views in July 49,660 July 2020 Summer Reading Adventure Final #’s 1,194 Registrations 491,957 Minutes Read 5,847 Learning Activities (new) 481 Participants Completed Virtual Programs •Storytimes •Living Room Concerts •Author Talks •Summer Reading Adventure Events •Book clubs •Workshops Programs Offered in July 27 New With over 5,500 views Homebound Services Launched June 8 13 Deliveries 39 Items for 8 Patrons Literacy Services Launched June 8 83 Instructional Hours 20 Patrons attended Zoom Training ITEM #5 I i1 • ■ ■